# Post ts_111642758931976722

- Post ID: `ts_111642758931976722`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2023-12-25T19:41:48.937Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_111642758931976722
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_111642758931976722/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_111642758931976722.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> “3 years ago today, President Trump pardoned this former Border Patrol Agent that the Bush DOJ jailed for almost 3 years, for allegedly pushing an illegal alien too hard as he was in pursuit.”

## What the media says

**Video transcript** (2:00), transcribed automatically, so names and numbers may be wrong. Speakers aren't identified, so a voice in it may not be his:

> her if she asked her a question. Okay Brooke well Gary we wanted to wish you the very best of Christmases and let you know that the president granted you a full pardon about an hour ago. You're kidding me. No it's all done you are fully pardoned and a press release just went on I want to read it for you. Gary Brugman was granted a full pardon today by President Donald J Trump. His clemency is supported by numerous elected officials including Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Senators Ted Cruz, John Cornyn, and then it kind of goes through the list of some of the people that supported you. Mr. Brugman served his country's honor for eight years in the Coast Guard and then four years as a U.S. Border Patrol agent while protecting the border at uh oh it's your case you're trying to call me right now I just put him in the voicemail while protecting our borders and evil past texts. Mr. Brugman is intercepted nearly a dozen illegal immigrants pursued him on foot and apprehended him. He was accused of knocking one of them to the ground was prosecuted on that basis and so 27 months in prison or other inmates sought to harm him because of his law enforcement background. After being released, President Mr. Brugman went on to obtain his bachelor's degree in business administration and management so Gary the president fully recognized your service to the country and was so proud to bring you a full pardon so congratulations. Oh my god thank you thank you so much. You're so welcome. Thank you for your service to the country and what you continue to do it's really really an honor to get to work on your file. If you can let him know I swear to god I'm gonna make him and all of you proud I promise. You already have Gary. Thank you so much.

## Media

- video: https://static-assets-1.truthsocial.com/tmtg:prime-ts-assets/media_attachments/files/111/642/758/791/282/080/original/5cd5f8c3a5cf17fa.mp4

## Engagement

- Likes: 18,788
- Reposts: 4,992
- Replies: 582
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.381Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-20T14:58:04.057Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## Summary

This post is aide-authored legacy promotion, likely pre-scheduled, functioning as immigration-hawk messaging during a legally turbulent holiday news cycle. Referring to Trump in third person, timed at mid-afternoon EST at Mar-a-Lago, and tonally inert relative to contemporaneous authentic posts, it bears none of Trump's signature stylistic markers. Its psychological significance lies not in Trump's direct expression but in what his communication apparatus chose to amplify: a redemption narrative recasting Trump as righteous corrector of institutional failure — even Republican institutional failure. The framing "pushing an illegal alien too hard" is rhetorically notable as a minimization device that converts a prosecuted civil rights violation into sympathetic vigor, while "illegal alien" performs ideological alignment and dehumanizes the subject. Given the Colorado disqualification ruling and federal prosecution dominating the news cycle, this post's emphasis on executive clemency and immigration protection reads as deliberate legacy management: redirecting the base toward concrete past achievements while the present campaign narrative is dominated by legal jeopardy. Clinically, this post yields little direct insight into Trump's psychological state, functioning instead as evidence of a professional communications apparatus capable of disciplined, tonally controlled content — a stark contrast to the authentic, emotionally volatile posts from the same date.

# Post Analysis: ts_111642758931976722 — Christmas Day 2023

## Authorship Attribution

**Verdict: Aide-written / reshared content (high confidence)**

The post refers to Trump in the **third person** ("President Trump pardoned"), which is the single most reliable marker of non-authentic authorship in Trump's Truth Social corpus. His authentic posts are almost universally first-person and immediate. The UTC timestamp of 19:41 converts to approximately **2:41 PM EST** (Mar-a-Lago, where Trump characteristically spends Christmas), squarely within business hours — consistent with Scavino or staff scheduling. The language is measured, grammatically complete, and free of the emotional volatility, capitalization bursts, and stream-of-consciousness fragmentation that characterize authentic Trump posts. This is structurally a caption for an embedded video, functioning as curated legacy promotion rather than reactive expression.

## Contextual Positioning

This post sits in stark contrast to the other Christmas Day posts in the longitudinal feed. Authentic Trump posts from the same date include incendiary attacks ("ROT IN HELL" framing, "Deranged Jack Smith," "WITCH HUNT"), polling score-keeping with contemptuous nicknames ("DeSanctimonious," "Birdbrain," "Sloppy Chris"), and extended grievance narratives about DOJ interference. This post is tonally inert by comparison — a scheduled asset drop, likely queued in advance, designed to reinforce immigration-hawk messaging without exposing Trump's emotional state.

## Psychological Analysis

Because this is aide-authored content, direct psychological inference about Trump's state is significantly limited. What is analytically available is the **thematic framing** chosen by the communication apparatus, which reflects underlying strategic and psychological priorities:

**Agency/Identity Themes:**
- The post positions Trump as a **righteous corrector of institutional injustice**, rescuing a law enforcement officer from an overreaching bureaucratic apparatus ("Bush DOJ"). This is doubly useful: it flatters both the immigration enforcement community and the anti-establishment base, while implicitly suggesting even Republican predecessors failed them.
- The framing of the pardon as heroic is consistent with the **King/Hero archetype** — the benevolent sovereign who sees true justice and acts where institutions failed.

**Narrative Structure:**
- This is a classic **contamination-then-redemption** arc: a good man (Border Patrol agent) contaminated by unjust institutional power, then redeemed by Trump's intervention. The protagonist (Trump) is cast as savior without appearing in the scene — his absence is performative modesty that nonetheless centers him.

**Motivational Subtext:**
- During a Christmas news cycle dominated by the Colorado Supreme Court's 14th Amendment disqualification ruling (December 19) and active federal criminal prosecution, the post redirects audience attention toward Trump's legacy of clemency and immigration protection. This is **defensive legacy management** — supply-seeking through historical accomplishment rather than current grievance.

## Rhetorical Analysis

**Primary devices:**
- **Third-person glorification**: "President Trump pardoned" — elevates the action to a historical fact rather than self-promotion, lending it an air of objective significance
- **Synecdoche / victim framing**: The agent stands in for all border enforcement personnel, making the pardon an implicit promise of protection to law enforcement communities
- **Euphemistic trivialization**: "allegedly pushing an illegal alien too hard" is striking language — it minimizes what was legally prosecuted as a civil rights violation (excessive force) by converting it into a sympathetic act of zeal. This is framing-by-diminishment.
- **Loaded terminology**: "illegal alien" is the preferred rhetorical marker in restrictionist immigration discourse; it both signals ideological alignment and dehumanizes the subject of the force
- **Institutional scapegoating**: Blaming the "Bush DOJ" is a rare move that signals the apparatus transcends party — even Republican institutions fail the real Americans

**Propaganda technique:** This is **audience-targeted legacy reinforcement**, not reactive communication. It serves a campaign function: reminding immigration hawks of a concrete past action while implicitly promising more of the same.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "3 years ago today, President Trump pardoned a former Border Patrol Agent" | **Mostly True** | Trump did issue multiple pardons in December 2020, including individuals with law enforcement backgrounds. The specific claim of Christmas Day 2020 pardon for this particular agent cannot be confirmed without the video content. |
| "The Bush DOJ jailed [the agent] for almost 3 years" | **Unverifiable** | The notable Ramos/Compean Border Patrol case was prosecuted under Bush (2006) but those agents were commuted by Bush in 2009 and fully pardoned by Trump in May 2023, not Christmas 2020. The specific agent referenced in the video is unidentifiable without fetching media content. |
| "The agent was jailed for allegedly pushing an illegal alien too hard as he was in pursuit" | **Half True** | This framing minimizes what civil rights prosecutions of Border Patrol agents typically involve — use of excessive force or civil rights violations against persons in custody. 'Pushing too hard' is a rhetorical trivialization, not a neutral legal description. |

Overall Veracity: 60%

## Danger Assessment

**None.** This is curated legacy promotion with no eliminationist, mobilizing, or threatening content. Immigration terminology ("illegal alien") is consistent with Trump's rhetorical baseline rather than an escalation.

## Summary

This post is aide-authored legacy promotion, likely pre-scheduled, functioning as immigration-hawk messaging during a legally turbulent holiday news cycle. Referring to Trump in third person, timed at mid-afternoon EST, and tonally inert relative to contemporaneous authentic posts, it bears none of Trump's signature stylistic markers. Its psychological significance lies not in Trump's direct expression but in what his communication apparatus chose to amplify: a redemption narrative recasting Trump as righteous corrector of institutional failure — even Republican institutional failure. The framing "pushing an illegal alien too hard" is rhetorically notable as a minimization device that converts a prosecuted civil rights violation into sympathetic vigor. Given the Colorado disqualification ruling and federal prosecution context, this post's emphasis on executive clemency and immigration protection reads as deliberate legacy management: reminding the base of concrete past actions while the present campaign narrative is dominated by legal jeopardy. Clinically, there is little to assess from this post directly, as it does not represent Trump's own voice.

## Authorship Analysis

**Aide-Written** (score: 10%)

### Indicators

- Third-person reference to Trump ('President Trump pardoned') — most reliable marker of non-authentic authorship
- Timestamp 19:41 UTC = ~2:41 PM EST at Mar-a-Lago — business hours, not Trump's authentic late-night window
- Grammatically complete, polished, no typos, no capitalization bursts
- Functions as a video caption — curated asset drop, not reactive expression
- Tonally inert compared to contemporaneous authenticated posts from same day

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Grandiose State**

**Trigger:** Maintenance

Sentiment: +0.20

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 20%
- Antisocial: 10%
- Paranoid: 10%
- Sadism: 0%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- rationalization (neurotic)
- idealization (immature)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 45%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Legacy-building through past clemency action
- Audience surrogate identification — agent stands in for law enforcement community

## Fact Checks (3)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-03-20._

> 3 years ago today, President Trump pardoned a former Border Patrol Agent

**MOSTLY TRUE**

Trump did issue multiple pardons in December 2020, including individuals with law enforcement backgrounds. The specific claim of Christmas Day 2020 pardon for this particular agent cannot be confirmed without the video content.

Sources: Trump December 2020 clemency grants

> The Bush DOJ jailed [the agent] for almost 3 years

**UNVERIFIABLE**

The notable Ramos/Compean Border Patrol case was prosecuted under Bush (2006) but those agents were commuted by Bush in 2009 and fully pardoned by Trump in May 2023, not Christmas 2020. The specific agent referenced in the video is unidentifiable without fetching media content.

> The agent was jailed for allegedly pushing an illegal alien too hard as he was in pursuit

**HALF TRUE**

This framing minimizes what civil rights prosecutions of Border Patrol agents typically involve — use of excessive force or civil rights violations against persons in custody. 'Pushing too hard' is a rhetorical trivialization, not a neutral legal description.

Overall Veracity: 60%

## Tags

- aide-authored (95%)
- legacy-promotion (85%)
- immigration-messaging (80%)
- law-enforcement-targeting (75%)
- dehumanizing-language (70%)
- redemption-narrative (65%)
- anti-establishment-bipartisan (60%)
- civil-rights-minimization (70%)

## That day

_From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._

**Christmas Day at Mar-a-Lago: Holiday Greetings Weaponized as Eliminationist Rage Peaks at "ROT IN HELL"**

Trump spent Christmas Day at Mar-a-Lago oscillating between warm holiday greetings and some of his most hostile language of the season. The morning started with attacks on Biden, the justice system, and what he called a coordinated conspiracy to interfere in the 2024 election. By mid-afternoon, a "Merry Christmas" post to adversaries escalated into telling them to "rot in hell" -- the day's most intense moment. Brief interludes of levity (polling boasts, a "Home Alone 2" shoutout, a supporter thank-you) punctuated the grievance, but legal anxiety from the Colorado ballot ruling and federal prosecutions dominated the day's emotional texture.

Full digest for 2023-12-25: https://trump.fm/date/2023-12-25/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2023, December 25). “3 years ago today, President Trump pardoned this... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_111642758931976722
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. "“3 years ago today, President Trump pardoned this former..." Truth Social, 25 Dec. 2023. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_111642758931976722. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, "“3 years ago today, President Trump pardoned this former...," Truth Social, December 25, 2023, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_111642758931976722.

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